THE DREAMS OF A West Indian carnival free of deadly violence were shattered yesterday morning when two innocent people were shot and killed during the early hours of the J’ouvert celebrations in Brooklyn.
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Authorities said Tuesday that the person was being questioned in the 71st Precinct in Crown Heights.
A man who said he didn’t think his gun was loaded when he opened fire at Brooklyn’s J’Ouvert street party has been arrested for the shooting of a 22-year-old college student celebrating the festival, police said.
The annual Labor Day Parade, or J’Ouvert festival, is a celebration of Caribbean culture that stretches down Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
St. Clair said police informed her that Borel had been sitting on a bench alone when he was shot, the paper reported, adding that he was not believed to have been the shooter’s target.
Another man in his 20s who was shot and injured is reportedly now being treated in stable condition, the station reports. “The parade during the day – the West Indian Parade was plagued by violence”, de Blasio said. Both events were far more rowdy in years past than their current incarnation. A 73-year-old woman was also shot in the arm as she sat on a bench outside a Wendy’s.
A former aide to NY state Governor Andrew Cuomo was killed past year after getting caught in the crossfire of rival gangs.
De Blasio said the annual pre-West Indian Day Parade event will continue despite the violence that has erupted during and near the event in past years. We still have to work hard.
It isn’t the first time J’Ouvert has been the scene of a homicide.
“I can’t blame the police for being more a little more aggressive now and keep things a little more organised because people act different now, ” Biggs said.
They read in part: “This community will no longer tolerate this violence”.
Last year, an aide to the governor was shot and killed during J’ouvert festivities. The police presence was increased this year because of safety concerns.
“There are more of us who love and more of us who are peaceful than those who commit violence”, she said at a pre-parade breakfast. “Not having J’Ouvert doesn’t mean we won’t have thousands of people on the streets”. Mayor de Blasio said that the actions of the gunmen did not represent Brooklyn’s Caribbean community.
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Regenald Moise, 20, has been charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment in connection with Poyah’s death, CBS New York reports.
